According to a lawyer working for Israeli Spyware maker, the governments of Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were accused of being behind the hacking promotion of 2019.
Last Thursday, during the cases between WhatsApp and NSO Group, NSO group lawyer Joe Acriterianakis, especially three governments, named spyware-user customers, According to a transcript of the hearing Obtained by TechCrunch this week.
Representatives of this first NSO group have publicly acknowledged that the spyware manufacturer’s customers (or were), after refusing to discuss his clients for years, argued that the company was unable to do so “, a spokeswoman from the NSO group told Techcunch in 2021, for example.
The uncovering came as part of a case led by the Meta-owned WhatsApp in 2019, which complained of hacking about 1,400 WhatsApp users by using the NSO Group’s vulnerability to the messaging app system from April to May of the same year.
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The contents of the last week’s hearing first revealed Courthouse News ServiceThe
WhatsApp claims that the case has been more targeted by human rights activists, journalists, journalists and “other members of civil society”. Citizens Lab, a Digital Right Group that has investigated government spyware abuse for more than a decade, Said in a report then It helped WhatsApp identify those victims.
Last week, NSO Group lawyer Acriterianakis told the judge that “there are at least eight customers whose names are part of the invention,” but only three naming during the hearing.
At the same time, the lawyer also indicated that a list of countries included A court document Last week, which shows that the 2019 spyware promotion is located in countries located in countries located in countries, this is also a list of NSO group customers.
“Pagasus was licensed for regions and it could only be used in those regions,” the NSO group said Akoterianakis referring to the mari spyware of the group.
In addition to Mexico and Uzbekistan, the list of six countries is Bahrain, India, Morocco, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Saudi Arabia mentioned by the NSO group lawyer at the hearing, but not appearing on the list.
This can be explained by the fact that customers in some NSO groups can target people outside their own territory. For example, in 2017, Citizen lab has reported In Mexico, one or more public customers in the NSO group had “situations” to advise one or more public customers that he was targeting several people, including the children of a well -known Mexican journalist, in the United States when he was targeted.
Gill Liner, a spokesman for NSO Group, reached TechCunch before the publication, declined to comment. When asked, the line did not debate that WhatsApp spyware was a customer of three companies in Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
WhatsApp spokesman Jade Alswah told TechCrunch that the company “is awaiting the upcoming trial to determine the losses and the order against the NSO to maintain WhatsApp and the people’s personal communication.”
Tuesday, Pre-judicialThe judge, who presided over the case, said that when the NSO group said that the documents provided as part of the duration of the cases as part of the period of the case are “at least four countries as NSO customers”, “the company has not yet publicly confirmed that these countries are its customers.
“Which of the proven records about which one is opaque [NSO’s] Clients were responsible for the attacks on the issue and thus [WhatsApp] The judge wrote, “In the case of these clients, the procedure of screening was unable to discover proof of whether the procedures were followed.
Over the years, companies such as Citizens Lab and Amnesty International have enrolled cases where pegasus was used to target or hack journalists, unhappy and human rights guard in some of the victim list. Mexico, HungarySpain, and UAEOf the many more.
TechCrunch arrived to comment on the embassies in Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in the United States and we would update the story if we get any response.
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